VETERAN Mark Taylor is quick to point out Colchester’s Chavasse VC House Recovery Centre saved his life.

Back in 2014 he was treated there after being discharged from his 25 years of service in the Army.

He suffered from severe PTSD and says he would not be here today had it not been for the work of the Help for Heroes staff at Chavasse House.

Now the charity has announced Chavasse House will not be reopened in “the foreseeable future” as it undergoes a restructuring process due to the financial strain of the coronavirus crisis.

Mr Taylor said the news was devastating for himself, but also for so many veterans in need of support across the east of England.

Mr Taylor said: “I am incredibly sad it is not going to reopen, but I understand it is a sign of the times.

“The charity sector has been absolutely decimated by coronavirus. Face-to-face fundraising has been completely stopped.

“The charity has been forced into the move to keep its care running and to remain providing services for veterans.”

Mr Taylor toured Kosovo and Northern Ireland during his military career, but it was after serving in Iraq in 2004, he fell apart.

His unit of 60 soldiers became isolated and over 23 days faced an estimated 500 militia who launched 86 assaults on their compound.

Their base was targeted by 595 mortar rounds in 230 different attacks, including direct hits with 57 rocket-propelled grenades.

The strain and trauma of the ordeal, on top of his other military experiences, were too much.

He fell into a deep, dark depression from which he could see no way out and tried to take his own life. He was sent to the psychiatric unit at Wegburg, where he spent three months.

But he wasn’t diagnosed with PTSD for another decade or so.

He says the treatment for the condition at Chavasse House undoubtedly saved him.

The 52-year-old said: “Help for Heroes don’t like me saying it, but Chavasse House saved my life.

“I now know they helped me to save myself, but without the charity I would not be here today, without a shadow of a doubt.

“They give people the tools and information for people to save themselves. Chavasse House has a special place in my heart.

“It is incredibly sad it won’t reopen, not only for the charity itself, but for the staff who could lose their jobs.”

He added: “It isn’t the best paid job in the world, but the work they do saves lives.”

Although he left Chavasse House many years ago, Mr Taylor has been a Help for Heroes Ambassador ever since.

And the charity has continued to be by his side, particularly in December, when his partner died suddenly at home.

Mr Taylor said: “Help for Heroes were there for me. They attended the funeral, were always on the phone and were there for me if I needed them.

“I didn’t cope particularly well. My business was closed in March when lockdown started and so I volunteered to work at the Nightingale Hospital in London. I ended up being an operations manager at it.

“In a way it wasn’t the right thing for me to do and when it closed down I was in a pit of grief without having come to terms with losing my partner.

“I was still being treated for PTSD and I wasn’t turning up to appointments.

“Help for Heroes got the crisis team to contact me and I went in to Maudsley Hospital.”

After receiving treatment in hospital, Mr Taylor moved to Spain, which he says has helped his recovery. But it is an ongoing process and his PTSD will be with him forever.

He said: “I try and be a glass half-full person now. Sometimes it is less full than others.

“When my arms get tired of holding the glass, Help for Heroes are there to help me. They have been my shoulder to lean on.”

Although Chavasse House is set to be closed, Mr Taylor said the charity will still do all it can to support struggling veterans across the UK.

He said: “It is some comfort to know Help for Heroes will still provide the support to people in need but I would like to see something done about their financial issues. Big companies have been bailed out by the Government during the crisis so we need to do all we can for service personnel.”